How to create your own sample packs
There are some corners of music production where the term “sample pack” has taken on negative connotations. For some, it conjures up images of a producer downloading the latest genre-specific ready-to-go kits and buying his way into a production career simply by piecing together someone else’s work.
However, there is something wrong with this picture. Obviously, sampling as a form of music making has a long and creative history stretching back to the work of the pioneers of early dance music, and relying on a specific sample pack is no more or less legitimate than samples from dusty old ones pull vinyl record bought at a charity store. A good commercial sample pack should do much more than just provide ready-made track elements – it should provide inspirational source material that can be edited, sampled or re-contextualized to inspire new ideas.
There are, of course, an endless number of sample packs that you can get your hands on, both as paid downloads and free – this very site actually offers around 80,000 free music samples to download. So why should you create your own?
For one, building your own library of custom loops and samples can be a great way for producers to develop their own distinctive sound. Sure, you can be very creative with other people’s sounds, but there’s nothing quite like accessing sound sources no one else has access to.
Creating bespoke sample packs can be a creatively inspiring process
In addition, creating bespoke sample packs can be creatively inspiring. Generating loops and one-shots is a fundamentally different process than writing parts of a track. While your usual creative workflow might involve creating elements to perform specific functions within a work in progress, creating samples involves creating interesting, unique, or just plain high-quality sounds, just for the sake of it.
This can lead to ideas that you might never have thought of in the course of a session. For these purposes, it can be great to focus your energy on a specific idea or theme – how many sounds can I create with a single synth? How can I create percussive sounds without using a drum machine? What unique sounds can I record in my kitchen, garden, or on my daily commute?
Of course, you don’t have to keep your sounds to yourself either. Creating sample packs for others to use can be a secondary source of income alongside your music production, or alternatively, distributing your sounds for free (or against an email subscription) can be a great way to engage with your fan base.
In the next few pages, we provide advice to help you create better recorded, curated, and processed packages. Plug in and get creative!